Build.com, an online-only home improvement retailer, launched a new augmented reality (AR) in-app experience,”In-Home Preview,” leveraging Apple’s new ARKit development platform.
This technology takes users beyond just visualizing how a product will look in their home – they can interact with it by turning the faucet on or off, adjusting the temperature or moving the handles. Users can also experiment with water flow and spray patterns. Realistic details like steaming hot water bring the experience to life. Lighting fixtures can be rotated 360 degrees, moved up and down by adjusting chain or downrod lengths, and switched on to show how they illuminate a room. Customers can easily view available finishes to find the perfect match for their decor. The immersive experience currently includes products from Delta® Faucet, Kichler, Hansgrohe, Progress Lighting, Miseno and Park Harbor.
“Customers have always told us how important it is to ‘touch and feel’ products before making a purchase. Now, we have a way to bridge that physical world with the digital,” said Dan Davis, Build.com’s Chief Technology Officer. “Our website offers more than 800,000 products and we are aiming to have over a 1,000 available in the ‘In-Home Preview’ feature.”
This foray into ecommerce AR delivers on the consumer’s desire for more interactivity, with 58 percent of consumers noting they want to use AR to see how products will look before purchasing them, according to Business Insider.
The Build.com app is available today for iPhone and iPad on the Apple App Store (link to download), and the “In-Home Preview” AR feature can be experienced on devices running iOS 11 (iPhone 6s/6s Plus and later, and all iPad Pro generations since 2015 as well as the new iPad, 5th generation). Build.com will be expanding available products for ‘In-Home Preview’ for iOS and is also considering an Android version using the new AR Core technology.